Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
In my 20+ years of following the Dodgers’ minor league system, I cannot remember the organization having such an abundance of outfield prospects. It’s come a long way from the days of Franklin Gutierrez and Reggie Abercrombie. However, time has taught us that quantity is key, as even the top rated or most physically gifted prospects can falter and fail to reach their potential. So as good as guys like Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope look, having depth behind them is important. And so now the question at hand: exactly how much depth do the Dodgers have?
Editor’s Note: Welcome Jared aboard!
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OKC (AAA) – RYAN WARD, JAMES TIBBS III, ZACH EHRHARD
Ryan Ward has been a very productive hitter over the past few years in Triple A and he’s now the all-time home run leader for Oklahoma City. Ward led the minor leagues with 36 home runs last year and was a deserved addition to the team’s 40 man roster this offseason. He should be a fixture in the middle of the Comets’ order in 2026 and will hopefully make his long-awaited major league debut.
Tibbs III was traded twice within a span of six weeks last year. After heading from San Fran to Boston in the Rafael Devers deal, the Dodgers acquired him (along with Ehrhard) from the Red Sox for Dustin May at the trade deadline. James has hit the ground running since joining the org and that has continued this spring. Tibbs III and Ward will provide OKC with a duo of dangerous lefties.
Ehrhard was the less heralded prospect coming back for May, but he’s shown solid tools across the board as a pro and figures to make his way onto a major league roster in the near future. Zach has been impressive this spring and played in nearly every game while producing an OPS over 1.000. He should get time in all three spots in the outfield for OKC this season.
TULSA (AA) – KENDALL GEORGE, JOSUE DE PAULA, ZYHIR HOPE
Tulsa will likely be a re-run of Great Lakes’ outfield from last year. That starts with the catalyst at the top of the order in Kendall George. One of the most electrifying baserunners in the minors, George became the first Dodgers player to steal 100 bases in a season since Alan Wiggins back in 1980. Kendall also got on base at an impressive .409 clip thanks to an improvement in his contact ability and drawing more walks than strikeouts. The speedster should be patrolling center field for the Drillers next month.
The Notorious JDP is widely regarded as the org’s best prospect and one of the top prospects in all of baseball. De Paula has a knack for contact and the projection to dream on him becoming a 30+ homer hitter in the future. He still has some work to do before he gets there and a lot of that will come in the outfield. He’s athletic enough to handle the corners but desperately needs work on his routes and effort with the glove. Still, the bat is the selling point and the stock is only going up with his strong performance at the plate this spring.
Acknowledging De Paula is the consensus top guy, my personal favorite is Hope. Built like an NFL running back, Zyhir has tools galore and is one of the guys I consider a “stop what you’re doing and watch” when he comes to the plate. That includes his mammoth 473 foot homer in the AFL in 2024 and his blistering exit velos even now in spring training. The one question mark is how much contact he’ll make. If he can cut down on the swing-and-miss, he’ll be a star.
GREAT LAKES (A+) – MIKE SIROTA, EDUARDO QUINTERO, CHARLES DAVALAN
Another personal favorite, Sirota debuted with Rancho last year and absolutely mashed. He was the best hitter in the minors while he was healthy but a knee injury with Great Lakes ended his season prematurely. It was only fitting that he’d finally get back on the field in a split squad spring training game and homer in his only at bat on Saturday. If he picks up where he left off, Sirota will skyrocket up the system and the prospect rankings.
Quintero wasn’t the most heralded prospect when he signed in 2023 as a catcher. The org quickly recognized his athleticism and moved him to the outfield where he can show off his tools. That includes his budding power, which saw his homer total from 8 in his first 131 professional games to 19 in 113 contests last year. He also stole 47 bases and has the arm and speed for any outfield spot. He’ll likely split time between center and right with Sirota.
Now this might be slightly ambitious, but despite Davalan only playing eight games in his pro debut, there’s little reason to keep him in A ball longer than necessary. After playing mostly left field for Arkansas last year, the Dodgers put him in center field with the Quakes where he looked surprisingly good. His arm likely keeps him out of right but the Loons should have three capable center fielders on their roster.
ONTARIO (A) – CHING-HSIEN KO, LANDYN VIDOUREK, BRENDAN TUNINK
You want some lefties? You’ve got some lefties. Ko has the build of a middle of the order masher but the approach of a slappy contact hitter. In time, he should be able to figure out when to unleash on the ball and drive it to the gaps or pull it in the air with authority. He’s a decent runner with a decent arm so he’ll be able to handle a corner but the bat should be the calling card if he can match his physicality with his approach.
Vidourek and Tunink could honestly be the same guy if you never saw them together. Both are athletic lefties with big tools and big contact concerns. Both flash power-speed and both struck out more than 30% of the time last season. Both could share an outfield with the Dodgers’ new Single A affiliate in Ontario this coming season.
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So how’s that for organizational depth? Sure, there could be some tweaks here and there with guys like Ward and Tibbs III seeing time at first base. Injuries happen, underperformance happens, but that’s why having enough outfield prospects to fill all four full-season affiliates makes this particular group special.
